Chapter 15 of The Believing Years is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Believing Years is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede. It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach. But I had the velocipede,--that was the main thing. It was built mostly of wood, and painted red. On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
Chapter 15 of The Believing Years is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading “It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.”
past form of “fetch” — go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading “THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.”
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading “It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.”
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.”
coated with paint
From this reading “It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.”
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading “On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.”
for a short time
From this reading “It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.”
plural of “sidewalk” — walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading “On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.”
In this reading “But I had the velocipede,--that was the main thing.”
In this reading “On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.”
In this reading “It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
later than; following
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I had the velocipede,--that was the main thing.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
something many people believe that is false
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
past form of “fetch” — go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But I had the velocipede,--that was the main thing.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
most important element
From this reading But I had the velocipede,--that was the main thing.
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
coated with paint
From this reading It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
cut with a saw
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
transport commercially
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
for a short time
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
plural of “sidewalk” — walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
a special situation
From this reading But I had the velocipede,--that was the main thing.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading On it, I spent four happy days, riding up and down the sidewalks of Oak Street.
any of several early bicycles with pedals on the front wheel
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But I had the velocipede,--that was the main thing.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading THE LUCKY-BUG After all my waiting and watching I never saw the ship that fetched my velocipede.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading It came--during the night, I fancy--shortly after we got home from the beach.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading It was built mostly of wood, and painted red.
Chapter 15 of The Believing Years by Edmund Lester Pearson holds 106 sentences, grouped into 22 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 15 holds 106 sentences of The Believing Years, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Believing Years by Edmund Lester Pearson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 106 sentences, grouped into 22 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 15 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Believing Years by Edmund Lester Pearson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2696 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46712 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46712, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 224 minutes of reading across 540 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Believing Years section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Believing Years to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Believing Years, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
